MUZAFFARABAD: Designed to foster the growth of the younger generation and address future challenges, Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Education Policy 2024-2040 will soon be launched in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

This was announced by Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Deevan Ali Khan Chughtai at a press conference held along with secretary Razaq Ahmed Nadeem and other officials to share the department’s two-year performance.

Mr Chughtai noted that after the 18th constitutional amendment in Pakistan, education was a provincial matter and according to the UNDP’s Human Development Index, AJK’s education sector ranked ahead of all provinces and the federal territory with regard to the literacy rate and quality of education.

“Ours is the only area in the country to have developed an education policy of its own after the 18th Amendment,” he said, adding that the policy emphasised modern trends, STEAM education, CLE education, and character building.

STEAM Education is an approach to teaching and learning that combines science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math to foster student inquiry, discussion, and problem-solving and CLE — covering Citizenship Education, Leadership Development, and Entrepreneurship Training — equips learners with essential skills and mindsets for personal and social growth.

Mr Chughtai said the new policy mandated Quranic education for students from grades one to 12. Additionally, the traditional assessment system that encouraged rote learning had been replaced with a comprehension and learning-outcomes-based evaluation, aimed at enhancing students’ critical thinking and creativity, he added.

He said a new school ranking system had already been introduced to improve educational quality.

“The School Examination Performance Index now evaluates schools based on student examination results and enrolment data for grades 9 through 12. While the high-performing schools receive awards, the under-performing schools face disciplinary actions,” he said, adding that it was because of this system the performance of public sector schools had achieved an 85pc success rate after a prolonged period.

Continuing, the minister pointed out that the 2024 Teachers Recruitment Policy was implemented after the cabinet approval, leading to the merit-based recruitment of nearly 3,000 elementary teachers - the highest number of hires in any department in one go in AJK’s history - through a third party, National Testing Service (NTS).

Additionally, 400 candidates on the waiting list were temporarily hired as teachers, effective until the next NTS exam, he said, and added that the government had also recruited 800 senior teachers and subject specialists through the Public Service Commission.

Mr Chughtai also expressed delight over the approval by the Planning Commission of Pakistan of a Rs 7 billion Out-of-School Children Project with the assistance of the Islamic Development Bank

This project will include the construction of 135 school buildings, teacher training, and improved school facilities, with additional components like establishment of school management committees and training, vocational training, and online job training, he said.

The minister said that for the first time in AJK around 95,000 underprivileged students from grades 1 to 5 were provided with free textbooks by the government.

In response to a question, Mr Chughtai said that, rather than establishing new institutions, the government aimed to address issues in existing institutions, seeking assistance from NGOs.

He also asserted the government’s zero-tolerance approach toward the “proxy teacher” system, commonly known as thethaikasystem, in public sector schools and urged the media to report any known instances so that strict action could be taken.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nadeem said the new education policy laid emphasis on character building and the mandatory Quranic education aligned with this focus.

He said efforts were also being made to improve the quality of education and regulate fee regime in private schools. After completing a private school census, any identified issues will be addressed, he said.

In response to a question, he said that district education officers had undergone a two-month training at the Kashmir Institute of Management to improve their professional skills.

AJK Textbook Board chairman Syed Tufail Bukhari informed journalists that plans to reduce the weight of students’ school bags were underway and this issue would be resolved by the next academic year under the government’s policy.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2024